1. Technical Field
Exemplary aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to an image forming apparatus, such as a copier, a facsimile machine, a printer, or a multi-functional system including a combination thereof.
2. Related Art
In an image forming apparatus that employs an electrophotographic method, a belt-shaped image bearer bearing an image contacts a transfer device, which is disposed opposing to the image bearer, to form a transfer nip serving as a transfer portion, thereby transferring the image onto a recording medium in the transfer nip. In such a system, the recording medium, which has been conveyed to the transfer nip, contacts the image bearer to generate an electrical discharge due to the potential difference therebetween. To prevent such an electrical discharge, for example, the transfer device is disposed offset to the upstream side in a direction of conveyance of the recording medium.